Champions Travel

Can victory over Manchester City be the catalyst for Liverpool’s season

At approximately 6.30pm at Anfield on Sunday afternoon, the familiar sight of Jurgen Klopp fist pumping to an adoring crowd was beamed across the sporting world.
The 1-0 scoreline was sure to raise very few eyebrows, whilst the manner in which Mohamed Salah scored the winning goal came as little surprise to fans.




However, in the heat of yet another famous Liverpool win, it is easy to forget quite how poor Jurgen Klopp’s side have been at times this season and even with Sunday’s win over Manchester City under their belts, Liverpool still sit 8^th – a whopping 14 points behind early season leaders Arsenal (albeit with a game in hand).

Of course, the fact that the season is very young will always be pointed out by fans, as will the upcoming World Cup – as a preparation hurdle Liverpool have had to overcome so far this term.

However, the World Cup is a problem many sides are facing and the fact Liverpool haven’t been playing well so far this campaign is a difficult one to dispute.

The reds are yet to win away from home in the Premier League this season, suffering both of their defeats on the road at Manchester United and Arsenal, whilst they were also held on their travels by Everton and Fulham. In addition to their poor away form, the reds have also dropped points at Anfield – with home draws against Brighton and Crystal Palace timely reminders of just how competitive the Premier League is this season.

As a famously optimistic bunch, Liverpool fans tend to never concede too much ground. However, being 14 points off the top of the table with 8 games played, is enough to make even the most hardened reds fan fear the worst.

Beating Manchester City may not prove to ultimately be enough, in terms of clawing back the deficit in the Premier League title race, but it has certainly added a slither of optimism to what has been a tough start to the campaign for the Anfield outlet.

Here are some potential factors that could be catalysts to a reds revival in 2022/23?


Key Players Finding Form

The departure of Ballon d’Or runner up Sadio Mané from Anfield in the summer caused shockwaves across the club and it needed key players to step up in his absence. In short, they haven’t so far.

Buccaneering right back Trent Alexander-Arnold has seen his form dip dramatically, with his performances seeing him out of the England fold for the time being and Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp also utilising other options in his position.

Prior to Sunday’s winning goal, Mohamed Salah had been coming into criticism for his performances whilst the likes of Virgil van Dijk, Jordan Henderson and Andrew Robertson had also been battling with their form.

If Liverpool are to rekindle the form of last season that saw them win both the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup, they will need their key men to start bringing in the points.


Weight of goals

Scoring 21 goals in 9 matches is not a bad return for any side but for Liverpool, a side that scored 94 goals in the Premier League alone last season, it is a little underwhelming. More to the point, 9 of those goals were scored in one match against Bournemouth, meaning the reds have scored just 13 in the other 8 Premier League games this season – something they clearly need to work on in the upcoming fixtures.


Deadly Darwin

Although he didn’t manage to score on Sunday, Erling Haaland has enjoyed a seismic impact at Manchester City and on the Premier League – notching 15 goals in just 10 games played. Once Sadio Mané left Liverpool in the summer, the reds moved to sign a big name striker of their own, Uruguayan Darwin Nunez, from Benfica.

Despite Jurgen Klopp’s claims Liverpool can’t financially compete with Manchester City, Nunez cost the reds nearly £30 million more than Haaland did, and he hasn’t enjoyed anywhere near the impact the Norwegian has at the Etihad so far this term. Comparisons don’t always need to be made but with only 2 Premier League goals so far, Liverpool need their big money signing to start firing soon.

With approximately a quarter of the Premier League season played, writing any side off is dangerous and Liverpool will have revelled in silencing the doubters against Manchester City.

But, they will need to get plenty of things right over the coming weeks and months if they are to keep pace with City and the rest of the sides vying for supremacy at the top of the Premier League table.
 

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